


Right here where he belongs

by LiterallyAmazingPhan



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: AU, Comfort, Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Phan - Freeform, Phan Fluff, Phan University AU, Phanfiction, University AU, phanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-23
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-31 16:09:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3984379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiterallyAmazingPhan/pseuds/LiterallyAmazingPhan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan Howell couldn’t believe his luck! He finally had a date with his crush, a breathtaking blue-eyed guy called Phil Lester. But then of course the universe had to intervene and make him lose his chance! Even worse: he’d have to awkwardly call and explain how he ended up on the A&E instead! Oh, for God’s sake, would he ever get a break? [Phan] [University AU]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Right here where he belongs

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is fiction. Everything is a lie, nothing is real! Pass it on: the truth doesn’t exist, it’s all a series of speculations which will ultimately lead us all to the belief we know something we don’t. Dan and Phil are not real, I’m not real, you’re not real! Everything is a social construct out to get us! Be scared! (Just kidding! This is phanfiction, come on, of course it’s not real, you silly goose! :P)
> 
> A/N: This Phanfic is based on a tumblr post and I made one of the ideas into an university AU, ‘cause why not? I hope I made it justice! S2
> 
> A/N 2: Originally posted on Tumblr

Daniel Howell couldn’t quite believe his terrible luck. It was supposed to be a great day. He had the night planned to the last detail, so excited for his first date with the boy he may or may not have crushed on for a while now. But oh no! Everything would surely go wrong when he least expected it! _When would it not?_ He wondered, bitterly.

Sighing softly and cursing the universe for always finding a way to screw with him, Dan picked up his cell phone, debating whether or not he should call his date and explain the situation. A few seconds later his mind was made up: it was better to call him and have an awkward conversation now than to just stand him up with no explanation at all and lose whichever slim chances he still had.

“Hi! Uhmm this is gonna sound really weird but I can’t come over tonight.” A pause, as he listened to the other side of the line “No, it’s not like that! You see I… I kinda…” That was so awkward, he was making himself cringe, flailing around looking for the right way to say it. _Just say it, you idiot_ , he urged himself, “Okay, right! You’re not gonna believe this, but I’m actually on the A&E right now”

* * *

 

_Earlier that day…_

Such a beautiful morning! Dan was smiling widely as he walked through the university campus, dimples clearly visible, a new spring on his step. His friends mocked him relentlessly for his big smile, trying to discover the reason for such joy. For once he was more than happy to oblige to their probing, saying the words he waited so long to be able to say: He had a date!

Dan Howell had an actual date! And it wasn’t just any date either! No, oh no! He was going out with Phil Lester, the boy he had a crush on for so long! You see, they had only one class together, and the brown-eyed boy could hardly focus on any of it, eyes glued to Phil’s attentive profile. After a long time of intense staring and some lighting stalking on his part - ok, he would admit to some stalking maybe, just a tiny bit! - the older boy had finally noticed him a few days ago.

* * *

 

That’s how it all happened: Dan was just minding his business, walking down the university halls as always, when he noticed Phil sitting all by himself on a bench, deeply focused on a book sitting on his lap. Torn between walking away like usual or actually finally acting on his crush, Dan fidgeted on the spot, trying to avoid staring too much so the other wouldn’t notice him just standing there.

 _Get it together, man!_ Dan reprimanded himself, nervously glancing at the boy who made his heart race. _You can do this, come on!_ He had a hard time believing he wouldn’t embarrass himself if he walked over there, but ended up figuring that life was just too short not to try and just live in ultimate regret. Feeling his stomach twist with anxiety, he finally made his way over and sat down on the bench next to the boy with perfect dark hair. _Now what?_ the boy wondered, suddenly blushing and struggling to find words.

“Hi!” Dan said, flustered, as the other boy’s ocean-blue eyes looked up and met his.

“Hello, there!” Phil smiled, warmly, offering his hand to shake, “it’s Dan, isn’t it? We have a class together, right?” They shook hands awkwardly, and the brown-haired boy still couldn’t quite believe his crush knew his name all along, “I’m Phil!”

“Yeah, I know!” Dan answered too fast, trying to laugh it off whilst wondering how bad it was that he knew a bit too much about the gorgeous boy sitting next to him without ever actually talking to him.

“Oh, okay,” Phil brushed it off, not seeming to mind it at all, but Dan couldn’t look away from his dazzling smile. He was grateful for the fact that they were sitting down, because his knees felt like jelly, as cliché as it sounds, “I’ve always thought you have great music taste, by the way! I see all the band t-shirts and they are really cool!” Dan literally felt his jaw falling a bit at the observation, “Sorry, is that weird?” Phil giggled, shaking it off easily and continuing to talk, “I’m a bit intense sometimes! I don’t meant to scare you off or anything!”

“NO NO NO!” Dan felt himself overreacting, almost face palming at the size of his regret for his social ineptitude in this decisive moment, “you’re fine, really!”

“Alright, then, Dan!” Another smile lit up his face as he responded and the other boy couldn’t help but love the way his name sounded on that deep voice of his. “Do you have classes now? I can walk you to it if you want.”

“I’d love that, actually!” Dan answered, not quite believing how well this encounter was going so far.

They walked there slowly, discussing music, video games and other many interests they surprisingly shared. When they reached his classroom, Dan felt quite sad to leave Phil, enjoying his company too much for them to part so quickly after finally getting to talk to each other.

“That’s my next class,” he said, disappointedly, letting his fringe fall over his eye as he stared at the ground.

“Oh, ok!” Phil said, turning his back and waving at him as he left, “bye, Dan!”

“WAIT!” Dan called loudly and he couldn’t help but notice a hopeful glint in the other guy’s eye as he turned back around, “Will it be too creepy if I already ask for your number?”

“Thought you’d never ask!” The cute bastard actually winked at him and he could actually feel himself going all weak and soft inside and feeling like the biggest loser for being so infatuated. They quickly exchanged numbers as Phil left for his own class, Dan’s smile following him down the hall as he went.

Now, Dan could just lie and say he never did or ever would give a little jump of victory followed by an undignified cheer as he realized he’s just got the cute boy’s phone number so easily. But, as you probably guessed, everyone had already seen it and probably shook their heads at how much of loser he was. So he accepted to keep playing the part, a huge smile plastered to his face during the class. His mind was far away, lost in the gentle pools of blue shining with glee as they discussed something he was passionate about.

After that first moment they ended up texting each other quite often. And as much of a star-struck idiot he was the next couple of days, you’d probably think he would at least have held on to some of his dignity and have the common courtesy of waiting one day until he started texting this boy. But, as it is - as much as Dan would be embarrassed to admit and probably deny with a vague hand gesture of exasperation - he hadn’t even lasted a whole class before he texted Phil about something irrelevant he thought about, and laughed at his surprisingly sharp and witty response.

Sure, God knows he had noticed Phil’s good looks and how he seemed extremely kind. His previous stalking had told him as much. But he found himself falling even more for the blue-eyed dork as they started messaging each other. Phil was funny and childish and loved to use way too many emoticons. But he also had a quirky flirty side to him which came through sometimes and made Dan’s heart flutter weirdly on his chest.

Another funny thing: he seemed to have almost no filter between his brain and mouth (or rather fingers in that case, he supposed) and texted him the most random crap, which would most likely get Dan in trouble when he ended up laughing louder than he should in a random class. Phil was also a massive nerd, so they had many shared interests as well.

Can’t you tell how far gone Dan already was by then?

So it came as no surprise that he couldn’t hold these feelings in any longer. He decided to go for it and ask the boy on a date already. Worst case scenario he was straight and would shut Dan down and it would just be another embarrassing memory for him to repress. But well, he figured the rejection wouldn’t hurt as bad as not trying at all! _Right?_ With the goal set in mind, the boy grabbed his phone and started to write a text message, nervously nibbling on his bottom lip:

Dan: “Hey, do you wanna maybe go out some time?”

Phil: “Sure :D Where to though?”

Dan: “IDK, Starbucks?”

Phil: “Sounds great, Dan!”

A small pause followed that message and Dan was surprised to feel his phone vibrating again seconds later.

Phil: “It’s a date ;)”

 _The sneaky little shit!_ Dan thought, blushing bright red. He not only knew that’s what Dan meant but was too afraid to say outright, but, as it seemed, he had absolutely no problem in making it very clear, all the while being still a bit cheeky about it.

“It’s a date!” He echoed back in a whisper, dumbfounded by his luck. And ok, this time Dan’s pretty sure nobody his little victory dance in the middle of the hall. Well, someone may have seen it and he chose to ignore it… Who the hell cared?! He had a date with Phil Lester, what else could he ask for?

* * *

This brings us back to said beautiful morning, as Dan bragged about his date with dreamy Phil Lester to his friends. The girls cooed at him, already imagining the cute couple they would make. The boys laughed and patted him in the back, proud of him for finally getting together with his crush after so much longing with no action. He couldn’t have been happier right then if he tried, smiling about the wonderful night he was bound to have.

Except that, knowing Dan, he shouldn’t be surprised to hear that destiny would intervene in the last minute and fuck it all up. That’s Dan’s karma for you.

* * *

 

It was the sort of thing that would only happen to him. He already knew he was the unluckiest person alive, so the fact that he got a date with freaking amazing Phil should have clued him in on the fact that the wind would change soon and it would all go south with no warning.

You may be wondering: after such an amazing day, what could possibly go wrong enough to disrupt Dan’s happiness?

Well, I’m sure glad you asked! You see, after getting ready for his date, all dressed up nicely and wearing that special cologne which smelt so nice to impress Phil, Dan Howell stepped out of his dorm, fixing his fringe one more time as he went. He considered getting a cab but decided to walk to the nearest Starbucks, since it wasn’t that far. A big smile on his face, the man happily skipped to his sure to be remarkable first date with cute Phil and his warm smile.

And then, just like that, everything went wrong. As Dan stepped out into the road to cross it, not a single care in the world, a car came out of nowhere rushing towards him and was too close before he could react or jump out of the way.

Oh shit! was all that went through his mind before he felt the impact against his body and fell down on the side of the road, a vague sense of pain and impending doom taking over as his body hit the ground hard.

And then there was nothing.

* * *

 

The first thing Dan saw when he came to his senses was an EMT hovering over him, trying to wake him up whilst checking his injuries. Around him a whole crowd had gathered, all avid for the newest piece of gossip: him. As the boy groaned, he felt a strong headache building up behind his eyes. Dan did the best he could to answer all the questions thrown his way by the doctors as they strapped him on a gurney and shoved him inside the ambulance, blaring away to the hospital. Dan whined low in his throat, knowing that he would end up in the A&E and his delightful plans for the night were pretty much ruined now. Just his luck, surely!

The severity of the situation didn’t really hit him very much at the time, though. Sure, he was in pain, his head hurt and he was pretty sure his left leg was broken, if the searing pain was anything to go by. He got hit by a freaking car while crossing the road, for fuck’s sake! While it sucked, sure, he was surprisingly still more bummed out about losing his date.

 _Well,_ he thought to himself, sarcastically, _I must have finally gone crazy, then!_

* * *

Phil Lester was sitting on his favorite booth at Starbucks. He kept glancing at his watch, nervously waiting for the beautiful brown–eyed boy to walk in at any minute. He’s just late, he reassured himself, _he wouldn’t just not show up, right?_ Dan seemed really nice, _surely he wasn’t that kind of guy_?

After almost an hour waiting and drinking two coffees on his own, Phil felt his heart ache with rejection. He really thought Dan were different! He liked this boy a lot, but apparently it wasn’t reciprocated. Typical! Phil should have known that a boy as cute as him wouldn’t really want to get involved with someone like himself and he wondered how he had not realized it sooner. The older boy couldn’t help but question why his date didn’t just cancel if he wasn’t really interested. Why would he do that to me?

Dejected, he started to get up from his booth when his phone rang. Startled, he took it out of his pocket, sitting back down as he saw Dan’s number come up on the screen. He frowned, wondering why would he be calling after he stood Phil up? Should he actually answer it? Shrugging, he decided to take the call anyway and maybe give him a piece of his mind while he was at it.

“Hello?” He asked, coldly, making it clear that he was very angry, damn it!

“Hi! Uhmm this is gonna sound really weird but I can’t come over tonight,” Phil was startled by Dan’s voice. His speech was slightly slurred and he seemed to be struggling a lot to get the words out. Strange.

“Dan, if you didn’t want to come you should have just told me!” He reprimanded, voice going higher, but an unsettling feeling on the pit of his stomach nagged at him. Something about this call sounded really odd, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“No, it’s not like that! You see I… I kinda…” Was Dan looking for an excuse? He genuinely sounded like he was struggling to form a sentence, making Phil question if he was high or something, “okay, right! You’re not gonna believe this, but I’m actually on the A&E right now”

“WHAT?” Was all he could so eloquently formulate as a response, heartbeat increasing as his eyes widened comically, not quite believing his ears.

“Yeah, I know! What a shitty excuse of a person would end up on the A&E on his first date with a gorgeous boy like yourself…?” Dan interrupted himself, probably noticing what he just said.

“Oh my God, Dan! Are you alright? What happened?!” He wanted to comment on the fact that his heart skipped a beat when Dan called him gorgeous, but he was too worried about the boy right now to take notice.

“There was an accident,” he answered, matter-of-factly, “a car hit me when I was crossing the road. But it’s not like too serious!” He stopped for a moment, considering it, “Well, at least I don’t think it is! I mean, I’m talking to you, aren’t I?”

“A car?! You were hit by a car?” He repeated, not quite knowing how to react, feeling his voice get louder and higher as he panicked slightly.

“What are you now, a parrot? Yes!” Dan sounded a bit aggravated now, “look, I won’t make it to our date. I’m sorry that you waited for me. I’ll make it up to you.”

“Dan, are mental?!” He sounded a bit more angry than he wanted there, feelings too chaotic, “You were hit by a car, this isn’t your fault! Where are you? Can I come over?” Phil asked eagerly.

“I’m on the nearest A&E. But, Phil, you really don’t need to…”

“Shush! I’m coming whether you want me there or not!” Phil answered, getting up “I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay…” He heard before hanging up, grabbing his coat and all-but running outside, nervously heading towards where he knew the nearest hospital was.

* * *

It was a long wait before Phil could actually see Dan. He had to get a cast for his broken leg and Phil would only be allowed to see him when he was back in a room of his own, resting up from all the stress of the night. Technically he wouldn’t even be allowed to see Dan at all, since they were almost strangers, but he pulled a lot of puppy-dog eyes to nurses until they finally relented and let him through, with a severe warning not to disturb him in any way.

When he heard Dan say he had been hit by a car all his previous anger and resentment dissipated, leaving nothing but a dull ache in his chest. In fact, he was quite scared by how intense his feelings had been then. _Damn, he was really smitten, wasn’t he?_

As he entered the room Dan was staying in, Phil didn’t really know what to expect. It could be really serious, since no one were allowed to tell him anything. He tried to stay hopeful, since Dan sounded okay earlier (if a little bit off, probably from the medication), but the worry was making him feel slightly sick.

Approaching the bed, Phil found the beautiful boy resting, one of his legs elevated in a big cast and a lot of red scratches on his body, probably from the collision with the ground. His stunning brown eyes were closed in sleep, so Phil decided to just go for it and grab his hand, massaging it carefully, eyes fixed on his relaxed face.

“Hey, you!” Phil said softly as he saw Dan’s eyelids start to flutter.

“Whaaa..?” He started to ask, opening his eyes and closing them again, groaning slightly, “Ugh, it’s so bright!” He tried again, seeing Phil’s face concernedly peering down at him and smiled weakly, remembering his date, “Oh, hi Phil!”

“How are you feeling?”

“A bit high,” he giggled, “I think I ended up asking for too much pain medication.”

“Do you want me to get a nurse or something?” He looked so worried, shiny blue eyes analyzing his face.

“No, it’s fine!” He reassured, giving their linked hands a little squeeze, “I’m sorry about missing the date. I was really looking forward to it too!”

“Don’t be stupid! It’s hardly your fault” The man sat down on the chair, without letting go of his hand “Besides, we can still have our date right here!” He smiled, “I got you something”

Dan only looked at him questioningly, head turning sideways, a bit like a puppy would, making Phil’s heart weaken for a second in face of his cuteness. He was so far gone for this boy it wasn’t even funny!

“Ta-DAH!” Phil said, pulling a pack of Malteasers from his pocket, seeing Dan’s eyes shine with unadulterated glee.

“OH MY GOD! How did you know I love those?” He extended his hands, letting go of Phil’s in the process, making grabbing motions in the air in front of him.

“You aren’t exactly discreet about how much you love them when you eat them on class, you know!” He chuckled, handing over the candy.

“You’re just jealous about our love!” Dan answered, ripping open the package and starting to eat them, a moan escaping his lips, “That’s the stuff!”

“Oh, God, should I leave you alone with the chocolate?” Phil teased, laughing.

“You just don’t understand,” was the reply as he munched down on a mouthful of the sweets.

A comfortable silence settled between them. Phil decided to speak again, nervously biting down on his bottom lip.

“You know, I was really worried when you said you were hit by a car. I’m glad you are mostly okay,” he meant every word too, his eyes watering a little, a fact Phil would still deny to this day whenever they told that story.

“I’m sorry I worried you,” Dan replied, sincerely, “It’s just my luck, really. When I finally get a date with the cutest boy in the whole university, the universe just decides to fuck me up the ass!”

Phil couldn’t really hide his smile, as his heart beat madly inside his chest. Dan didn’t seem to realize what he said, though, as he kept eating the chocolate like nothing had ever happened.

“Huh… Dan?” He stared a bit too much, a slight blush covering his cheeks.

“Yeah?” The other asked, innocently, looking at Phil’s eyes.

“Am I really the cutest boy in the whole university?” His smile grew even more as Dan groaned, face-palming and wincing.

“Oh, God, did I say that out loud?” He hid his face between his hands, wondering how he could get away with blaming it on the drugs, “Please, kill me right now!”

“Hey!” Dan looked up at him, blushing bright red “I think it’s really sweet! And I really like you a lot too, Dan Howell,” he got up, suddenly feeling confident. It was pretty clear Dan felt something for him, so why not go for it? He got very close to the brown-haired boy, fixing his fringe and asking softly, voice low, “can I kiss you?”

Dan nodded, suddenly not knowing how to react. Phil gently pressed his lips to Dan’s as he freaked out internally. Dan’s heart rate went through the roof and he was grateful for not having a heart monitor attached, showcasing it to world. When he managed to unfreeze from his internal panicking, Dan kissed back, closing his eyes, not quite believing he was really kissing Phil Lester!

They broke apart quickly, though. It wasn’t at all a heated kiss, as Phil knew Dan wasn’t actually at the top of his game right now. He decided to save it for later and have this really sweet first kiss instead. Dan just looked up at him, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him down towards the bed, trying to tug him down.

“Phiiiiil, lay here with me!” He shuffled over slightly, wincing in pain as he did.

“No, Dan, you’re gonna hurt yourself!” Phil protested, as Dan shrugged a bit and moved over a bit more, patting the empty space in bed next to himself.

“I’m too high to feel it right now. Let’s enjoy it while it lasts!” He laughed, as Phil hesitated, “Come on, man, I’m not contagious!”

“I really don’t want to hurt you!” Phil whined, accepting the spot near Dan and laying down, adjusting Dan’s fringe slightly again, more as an excuse to touch him than anything else. Grabbing his own phone, he asked “Do you maybe wanna watch a movie, since we’re stuck here anyway?”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Dan answered, yawning.

“Are you sure? You are probably really tired.”

“I want to watch it with you, though!” Dan whined, begging with his eyes “Please, it will be fun!”

“Okay, okay, turn the pleading eyes off!” Phil answered, chuckling and putting his arm behind Dan’s head and over his shoulder, gently supporting him up a bit more so he could watch the screen leaning on him “I have some TV show episodes here in my phone… Let’s watch some Buffy, then!” He enthused, actually excited about sharing one of his biggest passions with his date.

Anyone who walked in right at that moment could tell that Phil felt truly at home with Dan on his arms, holding up his cell phone for them to see, supporting Dan’s head carefully as he attempted to watch the episode. Attempted being the operative word as he kept yawning, looking dead tired. Probably the medication, Phil thought, watching Dan’s eyelids drop. He carefully pulled the boy closer, allowing him to rest his head on his shoulder. Dan winced a bit, probably because of his headache, but seemed really content there, laying his head on the other boy’s shoulder as he closed his heavy eyes.

It didn’t even took 5 full minutes before Dan was fast asleep, head resting against Phil’s body. The most impressive part, though, was that this improvised date in a hospital bed turned out to be the best date of Phil’s entire life so far. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, and he would rather they were falling asleep on a couch together after watching a movie than Dan being hurt in a hospital bed. But somehow he felt like he belonged there, right next to Dan. And as time would tell, it was indeed the beginning of something beautiful which would still last to this very day.

Putting his phone away, Phil leaned over and kissed Dan’s forehead, knowing full-well that he would be woken up soon enough by nurses checking up on him. He was also aware that he would be kicked out as soon as someone saw them together like that. Right now, though, he couldn’t care less. He had the cutest boy he had ever seen laying on his shoulder and he could feel his hot breaths against his shoulder, very much alive. Phil was thankful to whatever deities out there for allowing him to have his Dan tonight and asked for nothing but the chance to hold him again tomorrow and all the other days that followed. No matter what the universe did or didn’t do, from now on he knew that they were together. He smiled, assuredly: everything would be just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This was fun! I’m not sure how I feel, TBH! I really loved this at first, didn’t like it so much at second reading and fell in love with it all over again when I read it a third time. The style is very different from my usual, a bit more carefree, I think! But what do you think? Let me know! :D


End file.
